Trapster: Report, Share Speed Trap Locations On Your Phone

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As far as speed traps and speed cameras go, Scottsdale, Ariz., is a nightmare. Not only are several speed cameras mounted on the 101 loop (but only within city limits, mind you) but speed cameras have been placed on several major roadways, and traffic-light cameras also guard major intersections. Big Brother is everywhere.

Enter Trapster, a new free application for your mobile phone. Although there are numerous services that will report speed-trap data, Trapster makes the argument that they're only useful when their locations are fixed. The authorities often change their location at the drop of a hat, which is why real-time updates are especially useful.

Trapster combines the social elements of Digg (where is the speed camera? When was it active? Who reported it? Is he or she trustworthy?) with a mobile phone. If a user spots a speed trap, he or she punches a preconfigured button, and the Trapster software uses cell-phone triangulation and/or the GPS chip to flag the location.

Supported phones include the BlackBerry, Windows Mobile 5 and 6 smartphones, and Nokia smartphones. The Trapster app also supports phones that include Java J2ME, although that might be touch and go. Users can also sign up with Jott and then call (866) JOTT123 to report the location of a live speed trap, using the cross street and city (or area code) as an identifier.

Is this legal? Trapster makes the argument that if radar detectors are legal, Trapster should, too. And the site also makes the point that at least in California, nobody drives the speed limit, meaning that the CHP's ticketing of speeding motorists can be like bears plucking salmon during spawning season: random and arbitrary. AppScout certainly does not endorse speeding, but there's certainly a case (as in the opening example) that speed traps are there just for revenue generation. Now there's a tool to help fight back.